Aeroplane moves in the atmosphere, generally at great height. As such it has nothing to do with geomorphology. But when it touches the ground it has to do a lot with geomorphology. Even slight undulations of the ground affect safe take-off and landing.
The terrain in the environs of airfields is of enormous importance during take off and landing particularly crash-landing. We still recall how Morarji Desai had a miraculous escape when his plane crash-landed in a rice-field. Were it a mountainous topography the consequences would have been disastrous.
The hydrology around aerodromes is related to the geomorphology of the area and this is a serious factor if a plane over-runs the limits of the airfield. Moreover, the drainage, stability, durability and visibility of the airport are all related to local geomorphology.
With advancements in air navigation technology the bumpiness associated with mountain range neighborhood in the lenses-shaped bodies of clouds called ‘mountain waves’ marked by strong vertical winds might have been overcome but in the event of forced landing the geomorphology of a mountain tract becomes catastrophic. It is very difficult to find level ground even for a moderate-sized aerodrome in mountains.
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The local geomorphology not only makes the construction of an airfield difficult and costly but the terrain marked by high mountains rising immediately above aerodromes would make take-off and landing full of risks to airfields from landslides and avalanches which too are related to geomorphology.
Geomorphology obliges air service in mountains to have only helipads for helicopters or small aircrafts. Such service is called STOL (i.e., short take-off and landing). “Such aircrafts would be useful for hilly and difficult terrain not connected by the surface transport system.” This will be particularly suitable for the Lesser, Great and cis-Tibetan Himalaya.
Helicopter service also termed VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) is another type of air service imposed by geomorphology. But it is costlier than STOL service as “VTOL consumes more than six times the fuel 0 consumed by jets”.